LIBYA continues to be engulfed in chaos and confusion. The central governments writ, it seems, does not run even in the capital, Tripoli. Opposing militias clashed in the first week of November even as Parliament was meeting to vote on the coalition Cabinet that would run the government. The militias were unhappy with the composition of the Cabinet and forced the adjournment of Parliament. As an American columnist observed, President Barack Obamas intervention in Libya was a huge mistake that set in motion events that arent good for Libya, the United States and the world.
The last week of October saw the town of Bani Walid (population: 70,000), which stayed loyal to Muammar Qaddafi until the bitter end, being flattened by militias from Misrata, supported by the Libyan army.
Where is the international community, why have they forgotten us, lamented a tribal elder from the town. Its residents were forced to flee and their homes and property were looted. The militia leaders from Misrata claimed that Bani Walid still harboured pro-Qaddafi fighters, including one of his surviving sons, Khamis, and his former spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim. There were unconfirmed reports that both of them had been captured and killed during the latest round of fighting. The fighting was precipitated by the kidnapping and torture of Omar Shabaan, a resident of Misrata, apparently by Qaddafi loyalists. Shabaan claimed to have caught Qaddafi and helped in his torture and killing near Sirte. Shabaan was flown by the French to a hospital in Paris for treatment but he died of his injuries.
The Misrata militia, along with militias from Benghazi, had played an important role in the revolt against Qaddafi. As Shabaan was the poster boy for the Misrata rebels, they decided to wreak collective revenge on the hapless people of Bani Walid.
Sirte was the other city that experienced mass destruction because of its support for the previous government. New evidence implicated the militias, which were supported by the United States, France and Britain, in the deaths of hundreds of detainees and in the killings of Qaddafi and his sons.
A report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) blamed the Misrata militia for the summary execution of at least 66 members of Qaddafis convoy in Sirte. It also cast serious doubt on the assertion by the Libyan government and the U.S. that Qaddafi was killed in crossfire and not after his capture. The government has a responsibility to investigate the crimes but it appears powerless to do anything meaningful and, in fact, seems to be encouraging further revenge attacks on fellow Libyans.
John CherianCOMMents
COMMents
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